Friendly: St Pauli 4-5 Werder Bremen

We fell 5-4 to Bremen last night at the Millerntor, but there were, by all reports, many positives to take out of this fixture.

Five players who started on Friday night v Bochum were in the starting line-up on Tuesday night. Sobiech, Schachten, Rothenbach, Bruns and Saglik all played in both games, and will probably start on Monday too - except for Rothenbach with Kalla possibly returning from injury.

But the friendly gave game time to players who have struggled to get onto the pitch in the league games such as Pliquett, Funk and Daube. Morena also picked up a starting place, as did our new signing, straight from the Bremen bus, Kevin Schindler.

We were down 4-1 at half time and 5-1 after 51 minutes, and it was our new signing Schindler who scored our only goal in the first half as he took advantage of his height - 1.91m - and headed home.

From there we made a bit of a comeback with Saglik leading the charge. His strikes in the 55th and 66th minute got us within two goals. Although, we couldn't manage to complete the comeback, Funk scored a goal from distance to give us our fourth and throw his name further into the team selection mix.

The disappointment, of course, is that our defence was so leaky. Sobiech and Schachten have been regulars this season - and have played well - but featured in the first half where we conceded five times. Although I didn't see the match, I think Schachten may have been in midfield - him or Morena - but the point still remains. Gunesch and Rothenbach, the ones we'd have to turn to in case of an injury crisis, were also involved in this back four that got torn apart.

But it is good to see Saglik snaring a double and our new signing finding the score-sheet just 25 minutes into his first appearance for us. As I said, I'm unsure of the formation and selections, but I'd guess:

--------------------Pliquett
Rothenbach-----Sobiech------Morena-----Gunesch
-----------------------Funk
------------Schachten----Daube
Schindler-------------------------------Bruns
--------------------Saglik

Friendly v Bremen tonight + Kevin Schindler

It was announced yesterday that we would play Bundesliga club Werder Bremen tonight at the Millerntor (6pm local, 2am Wednesday AEST).

After our 2-1 victory on Friday night our next game isn't until Monday. Andre Schubert wants to avoid rustiness developing in between this 10 day break, and thus this friendly was scheduled.

This is a good, competitive match against a solid team top flight team featuring Naldo who is returning from a long injury.

The break offers a chance for a few of our players to rest their niggling injuries - Naki, Kalla, Kruse, Hennings, Ebbers, Takyi, Heber and Filipovic. Only a few...

While we may get the chance to see some more of the likes of Funk, Drobo-Ampem, Daube etc tonight, Kalla is hopeful of returning on Monday night against Duisburg and could feature late in this game.

Werder Bremen striker Kevin Schindler, who has spent loan spells at numerous 2.Bundesliga clubs, may not be on the Bremen bus home after this fixture. It sounds as if, for 150,000 Euros, the 23-year-old versatile forward will be playing for St Pauli soon.

The 1.91m attacker can play up front or on the wing and has featured at Augsburg, Duisburg and, worst of all, Hansa Rostock.

But if the club believes he will add to the squad, lets welcome the front man. He'll probably be a third or fourth choice striker and a fourth or fifth choice winger - depending on where Hennings may be required on match day, or if he proves to be a step behind Schindler.

VfL Bochum 1-2 St Pauli - Top of league!

Max Kruse chalked up a first half assist and a goal of his own with six minutes remaining to secure a brilliant three points in a tough away trip to Bochum to put us in first place for now.

With Marius Ebbers and Jan-Philipp Kalla out because of injury, we had two changes. Mahir Saglik and Carsten Rothenbach came in to start their first league games of the season. Sebastian Schachten moved to the left to allow Rothenbach to play on the right, and Saglik started up front.

The conditions were torrential at kick off and it was reflected in our play in the opening 10 minutes. Bochum started with a bang and had a long shot go not far wide in the opening minute. Six minutes later and they capitalised on their high-tempo play which forced us into too many cheap turnovers.

In the wet conditions they pressed us and forced errors, and continued the high tempo when on the attack. A brilliant move ended with reverse first-touch pass that split Markus Thorandt and Lasse Sobiech - who only had about a metre in between them as it was.

Dabrowski knew exactly what was happening and ran onto it and slotted home. You can't blame Philip Tschauner for the goal as he did everything he could; charged at the player, stayed on his feet and went the right way. The shot was just simply unstoppable from that range.

I'm also unsure if you can blame Thorandt or Sobiech. Maybe Sobiech was too flat-footed and Thorandt was caught ball watching a bit, but in reality the move was executed perfectly and they deserved the goal.

We seemed to kick into gear not long after. They had another drive from outside the area go wide on 11 minutes and that was about it from Bochum in the opening half - apart from an attempted cross which almost floated into the far top corner until Tschauner palmed it over.

Our passing improved as the half progressed and, with the loud and big in numbers away support behind us, we began to take ascendancy. Florian Bruns and Fin Bartels began to get involved more and, with Kruse and Charles Takyi taking charge from the midfield, the signs were encouraging.

The problem seemed to be a lack of ideas in the final third, which in turn lead to the loss of possession. But, in the 32nd minute, a mint counter attack which developed from the cross-turned-shot that Tschauner saved led to the first goal.

The corner from the save led to us gaining possession. The counter attack swept from the left to the right where Kruse, when close to the byline, whipped in a cross to the far post. Bartels controlled the ball, cut inside and finished into the far bottom corner to equalise.

We had two chances to take the lead on the stroke of half time when Sobiech had two headers well saved. He was unlucky not to find the net and in truth it would have been a just reward for his great performances in these first four matches.

Bochum fought back and began to get into the game more in the second half. The referee was fairly strict and blew for a lot of fouls which probably worked in our favour. The game couldn't flow and became quite rigid. It was set to finish at a 1-1 draw which would have been a better result for us than for Bochum and a could have been considered a good away day.

We did have a few chances in the second half and, apart from the eventual goal, they all stemmed from Bartels down the right. He did well to beat his man on a few occasions, and his passes back across the area always seemed to end in the shot across the face of goal being well saved.

Rouwen Hennings came on for Takyi on the hour mark and made a strong impact. He made a brilliant sliding block to end a dangerous Bochum sweeping move, and seemed to be involved in every attack. He started in the midfield until Fabio Morena returned from injury, coming on for Saglik. Morena dropped into the midfield and Hennings played as the front man.

Saglik's first league start wasn't bad. He played the role Ebbers does well - a link between the midfield triangle and the wide men. He had a strong header directed low and hard stopped thanks to quick reactions and another shot later in the match which forced a good save. He wasn't heavily involved but I thought he did what was required of him.

We took the lead in the 84th minute after some great work from Kruse. It was perhaps against the run of play a bit, but the momentum wasn't considerably on one side or another. Kruse made a run down the left of the area, cut back inside and slid the ball through the keepers legs to put us in front of the first time that night.

The St Pauli fans managed to somehow raise the volume another notch but it was nervous times in those closing minutes. Schachten received a second yellow for clipping a Bochum player making a dangerous run in the 86th minute and it put us in a difficult position.

Fortunately the defence remained strong and constantly cleared deep crosses and free-kicks into the area. We managed to see out the game and Andre Schubert erupted when the whistle was blew. He was riding every kick in this match and was obviously well pleased with the three points in our toughest game so far.

We are top of league! (for another few hours, at least.)

VfL Bochum 1 (Dabrowski 7')
St Pauli 2 (Bartels 32', Kruse 84')

Match day - away v VfL Bochum. Team news.

In about nine hours we kick off our second away match of the season. We travel to Bochum for this one and it is the first time we have been there for a league match in over ten years. The away team has never won the match when these two teams faced in the past and we'll be looking to end that curse tonight with a solid start behind us and over 2400 away fans apparently making the trip.

One factor that I hope can change the away team curse in this fixture is of course ex-Bochum player Mahir Saglik. With Marius Ebbers out injured, Saglik will almost certainly start up front for us. His experience at Bochum and his knowledge of the squad will hopefully help, even in the slightest.

In other injury news, Jan-Philipp Kalla has also not travelled due to a knock picked up in the 3-1 win against Aachen. He'll be missed after a great start to the season. Sebastian Schachten can play on the left and probably will do that.

That'll leave the right back spot vacant and it'll either be taken by Patrick Funk - who has yet to start a league game - or the man who started in our cup tie, Carsten Rothenbach. I think it'll be the latter but wouldn't mind seeing how Funk goes.

Fabio Morena has also returned from injury and will travel to Bochum. Don't think he'll start but could be important off the bench.

Andre Schubert has basically said in his press conference that Bochum are a very good side that needs to be respected and that we'll need to be patient.

It's nothing ground breaking but it is important. I think we need to be defensively strong and focus on not giving away cheap possession in the midfield. With the midfield triangle we've used the ball well so far in the first three matches, but have given the ball away poorly at bad times on occasion. We need to make sure we stay tidy and, as the boss says, patient.

The full squad that's travelled to Bochum:
Benedict Pliquett
Philip Tschauner
Lasse Sobiech
Markus Thorandt
Sebastian Schachten
Ralph Gunesch
Davidson Drobo-Ampem
Fabio Morena
Carsten Rothenbach
Patrick Funk
Fin Bartels
Fabian Boll
Florian Bruns
Charles Takyi
Max Kruse
Dennis Daube
Rouwen Hennings
Mahir Saglik

Will probably line up like this:

--------------------Tschauner
Rothenbach----Thorandt-----Sobiech-------Schachten
----------------------Boll
-------------Kruse------------Takyi
Bartels------------------------------------Bruns
---------------------Saglik

St Pauli 3-1 Alemannia Aachen - Kruse double seals victory

Two goals to Kruse either side of Brun's 45th minute penalty was enough to break the 174 days without a win at the Millerntor in a competition match.

Kruse's 17th minute goal cancelled out Aachen's early strike, and Brun's penalty on the stroke of half time gave us the lead. Kruse's second in stoppage time sealed a well deserved win.

We made just one change from our last league game v Eintracht Frankfurt. With Deniz Naki out injured, Bruns returned to the starting 11 on the left wing.

We looked to play a short passing game within the midfield triangle again, although it was a bit scrappy early. We lost cheap balls in the center of the pitch just a little too often.

The passing in and around the final third was a class above though. Players with there backs to goal - Ebbers or Takyi usually - provided great lay-offs to the players running diagonal lines in behind - often Kruse and Bartels and on even rarer occasions Boll and Bruns.

We went down in the 7th minute through some poor scrambling defence. A ball across the box from the byline was blocked and fell to Thorandt who desperately tried to clear it. But his awkwardly hit clearance only managed to fall to Feisthammel who, from six yards out, volleyed home with intent and gave Tschauner no chance.

But in the 17th minute - following two chances in a matter of minutes - we scored our equaliser. An Aachen defender failed to control a long ball on his chest and allowed Kruse to latch onto it and finish neatly when one-on-one.

From there on in it was mainly all St Pauli. A strong tackle in the 27th minute deflected across to Bartels on the right of the area who should have done better with his effort. It was Ebbers who next threatened to put us in the lead. His near post header from a corner sailed over the crossbar in the 40th minute which was, a minute later, followed by a play which led to a shoulder injury which forced him off the pitch.

Takyi displayed some of the one-touch passing around the box with his lay-off to Bruns, who showed immense skill and composure to thread a through ball to Ebbers. The St Pauli front man managed to beat the keeper to the ball and round him, but his shot towards the open goal was blocked by a defender. It was during this shot that he tumbled towards the ground and hurt his shoulder. He was replaced by Saglik and the same formation was maintained.

The injury didn't stop our late half siege and when Bruns smartly won a penalty, taking the ball away from a defender and going down when his ankles were clipped, he always looked confident as he stepped up to take it. He it it down the middle - with a swerve to the right - to give us a 2-1 lead going into the break. Only a couple of times Tschauner was forced to save in the half.

In the second half we looked to maintain a more solid structure and stay defensively strong. It worked well, with just a far post header drifting over their only chance. The match stayed a lot like this until Aachen decided to push higher up and try get themselves a winner.

This opened up space at the back and we exploited this area on the counter three or four times. Most of the time it came to nothing - like when Takyi broke and squared it to Schachten who's shot was deflected - but the attack was still there and it was enough to make sure Aachen, while still attacking, were at least still a little cautious at the back.

But even if that was the case, they didn't tighten the screws and paid for it in the 91st when Kruse scored his second. Kruse broke and put a ball through to Saglik who, after taking a few touches, put it back across to Kruse. The midfielder was through and slid the ball past the keeper with ease, wheeling away with delight as he the three points were secured.

It wasn't a perfect performance, but the hunger and passion was there, and it was a good win. Though it wasn't without problems. Apart from Ebbers injury, Kalla also limped off in the 65th minute, but I don't think it's serious. Lets hope so at least.

Our next game is away to Bochum on Friday night at 8:30pm (4:30am AEST)

St Pauli 3 (Kruse 17' 91', Bruns 43')
Alemannia Aachen 1 (Feisthammel 7')

Eintracht Trier 2-1 St Pauli - Frustration, ecstasy, heartbreak

Minnows have Eintracht Trier knocked us out of the DFB Cup with a 2-1 win. It was a match that featured an insane last 10 minutes which saw two goals, the crossbar struck and a host of chances.

We made four changes from the 1-1 draw with Frankfurt. Pliquett replaced Tschauner in the sticks, Naki made way for Bruns due to injury, Rothenbach came in for Bartels and moved to right back - pushing Schachten into the midfield - and Saglik had his first competitive match start as he was in for Takyi.

The match didn't start out well for us and we fell behind 16 minutes in. A ball across the box caused havoc in a disjointed and confused defence, and Kalabus hit the ball back across the goal and past a helpless Pliquett.

While disappointing to fall behind, it isn't unrealistic to have thought we could have gotten back into the match. But, as Andre Schubert plainly stated post match, "Trier have provided us with tasks that we could not solve."

We looked relatively lost for ideas and it wasn't until Ebbers horribly skewed a shot from a great position after 83 minutes that the match really kicked into gear.

Trier instantly went on the attack after the Ebbers miss and should have found themselves a second, but a rushed shot from a slightly tight angle meant they missed an open goal. Three minutes later and it was St Pauli on the attack again. This time it was through Schachten but his shot deflected off Ebbers for a goal kick.

Though that deflection of Ebbers was unfortunate, his headed flick-on just one minute later to Saglik was vital. The striker slotted home to score his first St Pauli goal and equalise with just two minutes left on the clock. While the goal sent the travelling fans into raptures, it was just a minute later before the home supporters were erupting again.

Trier broke and managed to catch us napping. They got in behind Rothenbach and Hauswald trickled the ball past Pliquett - who perhaps should have done better - and into the far corner.

But it didn't prove to be the end of the drama as Kalla struck the crossbar in injury time. His venomous strike bounced down off the bar and onto the line, but didn't manage to cross the stripe and bounced back into play. The resulting header was weak and easily saved, and it brought an end to proceedings.

The loss is disappointing but we just need to get back to business against Alemannia Aachen on Friday night. Thankfully a potential injury to Boll doesn't seem as bad as first feared, but Takyi couldn't train yesterday and neither did Morena. Both should, hopefully, be back into it in the next few days.